This invention relates to vehicle tow bars, and more particularly to a novel collapsible tow bar which is arranged for quick and easy attachment to and removal from a vehicle to be towed, while also facilitating the hitching of a vehicle to be towed to a tow car.
Tow bars are known in the art, and are finding increasing popularity particularly among RV enthusiasts who often tow a car behind them so that they may have transportation other than their large, cumbersome campers when they have put in for a stay at a park or the like. Such conventional tow bars typically in use generally comprise a mounting bracket extending laterally across the front of the car and mounted to the frame or the bumper. An A-frame tongue portion is attached at its wide end to laterally spaced apart points on the mounting bracket and provided for vertically pivotal movement thereon so as to accommodate upward and downward movement between the towing vehicle and the vehicle towed. The closed end of the A-shaped tongue portion of course mounts the trailer hitch coupler, which receives the corresponding ball component mounted on the tow vehicle. When not in use, the assembly must either be unbolted and removed from the vehicle before driving, or the tongue portion pivoted upwardly and locked into position with the hitch coupler projecting well above the hood of the car forwardly of the bumper thereof.
Alternatively, collapsible tow bars have been provided heretofor, and are arranged to be folded when not in use so that they lay laterally across the front of the towed car and secured there during all times that the car is not being towed. Aside from the permanently added weight on the front end of the car, these male permanent fixtures can be attractive to vandals, or subject to deterioration from the elements during their unused times which represent the bulk of their time in place on a vehicle, and commonly end up rather dirty and messy when it comes time to eventually use them again. Typical of this type of tow bar are those disclosed in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,883 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,105,706 and 3,281,163.
While these later model tow bars do provide the extreme advantage of affording the user a great deal more ease in hooking up to a towing vehicle than the rigid A-frames of the earlier art, it has been found that there is a need for such versatile tow bars that are also configured specifically for quick and easy removal from and attachment to the front of a car to be towed so that when not in use the tow bar assembly itself may be uncoupled from the towed vehicle and swung against the rear end of the towing recreational vehicle and secured for storage, or it may also be disconnected from the towing vehicle and conveniently and safely stowed away as in the utility compartment of the recreational vehicle.